Hickory Canyons Natural Area: A Missouri Hidden Gem

Hickory Canyons Natural Area, nestled in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, offers a surprising landscape of geological and botanical interest. This 1094-acre area, owned by the L-A-D Foundation and managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation, protects a series of box canyons carved from Lamotte sandstone. These canyons, formed over millions of years, create a cool, moist environment that supports a unique array of plant life. The area features two main hiking trails. The shorter trail, a quarter-mile walk, leads to a steep-walled box canyon where a seasonal waterfall cascades after rainfall. Across the road, a more strenuous one-mile loop trail winds through the sandstone forest, descends into the canyon, and crosses the upper reaches of Hickory Creek. The trails offer views of the area's distinctive bluffs and canyons. Hickory Canyons is home to diverse plant communities, including glacial relict species. These plants, more common during the last Ice Age, survive in the canyon's microclimate. Visitors can find partridge berry, various ferns, club mosses, spicebush, pawpaw, and deciduous holly. The area also features a mix of oak, maple, and pine forests. Visitors can enjoy hiking and bird watching. The best time to visit is late winter or early spring after recent rain to see the waterfalls.